Compression can do radically different things to the sound of a snare drum, depending on how it's set up. In this episode, Mike Senior explores three ways in which a compressor can help bring your snare tracks to life.
Show Notes
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:40 - Inconsistent snare hits
05:25 - Sustaining snare hits
08:15 - Enhancing attack
12:29 - Summary
24-bit Podcast Download
If you'd like to listen more critically to the audio examples, you can download a high-resolution 24-bit/44.1kHz WAV of this whole podcast episode here:
mikeseniorsnare24-bit-version.wav.zip
Credits
This month's episode features recordings from The Purple Hat Mob's 'Access Denied' and Dunning Kruger's 'Japan Song'. If you'd like to try mixing these projects for yourself, you can download the full raw multitracks for them here:
These projects were also featured in Sound On Sound in the February 2020 'Mix Rescue' column, and in the October 2012 and February 2013 'Session Notes' columns, which can be found in the magazine's article archives here:
- www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mix-rescue-overcoming-room
- www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-rock-band-location-recording
- www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-writing-recording-cello-overdubs
For more general advice about compressing all kinds of drums, check out this Sound On Sound cover feature from February 2017 called 'Drum Compression: Fashion The Sound You Want':
Presenter: Mike Senior — Biog
Mike Senior is a professional audio engineer, regular SOS contributor, and author of the best-selling books Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio and Recording Secrets For The Small Studio. He runs the Cambridge-MT educational resources site (including the web's largest free multitrack download library) and hosts two monthly independent podcasts, Project Studio Tea Break and the Cambridge-MT Patrons Podcast.
About the Recording & Mixing podcast channel
On this channel you’ll find shows packed with hints & tips about getting the most out of the recording, mixing and mastering process.
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.